Whenever there is talk about the social security structure of Bangladesh, two poisons come up again and again—disabled allowance and BNP proposed or discussed ‘family card’. One is a long history; the other is a relatively recent political proposal. The concept of a goal-based cash for a specific risk population; the other is a broad framework of family-based social security.
The disability allowance program in Bangladesh officially started in the financial year 2005-2006. It was the same power as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government. In the first stage, the first phase started to give allowance to a limited number of beneficiaries. Although this amount seems small in today's context, in principle it was a boon in principle - through this, the state officially admits for the first time that the disability is only personal misfortune, it is a social and economic deprivation.
The next time came the power of Bangladesh Awami League in 2009. They have upgraded the social security sector to a priority policy. The amount of disabled allowance has gradually increased to 300, 400, 500, 600 and now in the fiscal year 2023-2024. The number of beneficiaries has also increased to 850 rupees. That is, a small scale program has evolved into a large social security network with the same.
But the question is - is this 850 taka enough? 2. If you consider the price of the market, the cost of the medical expenses and the materials, the minimum is the month, the minimum amount of money is the lowest.
Now let's come to the family card concept. Bangladesh Nationalist Party has proposed a family-based social security program called ‘Family Card’ in recent years. The idea is that every lowest family will be given a registered card, through which they will get a certain amount of subsidized food products, daily income items or direct cash.
The philosophy of the family card is different in the disability allowance, individually, family-based, family-based, disability allowance, and the family card, on the one hand, a weak population; on the other hand, an important question arises. Here is an important question—is the disability allowance included in the family card or should be separated?
If family-based support is given, then how will the poison of excess be considered if there is a disabled member in the same family? Because disability is the cause of poverty, and also results in a poor family. If a working person is disabled, the family is at double risk, in which case, if the solution is given only by giving a family-based card, the disabled person will be at risk. May not be met.Again, if there is a separate allowance, at least a certain cash flow is guaranteed in his name.
The question of economic capacity is also important. The allocation of social security sector in the annual budget of Bangladesh is continuously increasing. But the allocation of this sector is still limited compared to GDP. If there are millions of families included through the family card, it will cost a lot of money, will that money be imposed by new taxes, or by reorganizing the subsidy? And that bay is long lasting?
One of the major successes of Disability Allowance is to deliver money directly to the beneficiaries through digital database and mobile banking. However, the opportunity of the middleman has been reduced. But the complaint has been raised that the election process is political influence, the real disabled person is paid, or if the issue of the issue of the real disabled person is the case, the same challenge may be seen in the political and sphere of the current family.
From a sociological point of view, disability allowance is only a symbolic recognition that the state is viewing disabled citizens from the sphere of ‘right’, while the family card concept is not the center of social protection but the family is not equal to the same as safe. If there is no separate allowance in his name, then the extent to which family-based support will play a role in his personal power is questionable.
The political reality is that these two programs have become a competition for party achievements. One side says that we have started the disability allowance; the other side says—we have done and expanded the family card—and this will be the new horizon of poverty. But in the eyes of the citizen, it is important that it is not, how effective, and sustainable.
In the context of current inflation, Disability Allowance is less than the minimum cost of life. 10-15 thousand rupees per annum is limited to a family of 10-15 thousand rupees, that is, the two programs have limitations, but they also have the strength—disability allowance carries the power of individual recognition and nit-similarity; the potential of dealing with the overall poverty by carrying family cards.
A better social protection system can coexist in both types of support, family-based basic support, as well as risk-based special allowances—impaired, dependent, widow, maternity support, etc. The individual will receive a separate recognition and support.
Finally, it is not a zero-equal game, with disability allowance vs. family card. If you really want to ensure social justice, then he must go deeper into the policy of mathematics politics. The overall security of the poor family should be ensured along with ensuring the status and rights of the disabled citizen.
Md. Borhan Uddin
Social activist, essayist, journalist and political columnist
